Possible appoints Joe Crump as managing director of New York office
On the heels of the notice that chief executive Shane Atchison and Americas president Jason Burby will be exiting the agency for Domo, Possible has announced that Joe Crump has been appointed managing director of the New York office.
Joe Crump hired as managing director of Possible New York
In his new role, Crump will oversee all client relations, delivery and business operations for the Possible New York office.
“It’s awesome. I have butterflies. It’s like the first day of school, but it’s a great school,” said Crump to The Drum on just his second day on the job.
For the last 17 years, Crump has been a senior executive at Razorfish (now SapientRazorfish), where he held multiple executive positions, leading the agency and its clients through dramatic shifts in technology evolution and consumer behavior.
In 2014, he founded the Razorfish’s product and service innovation practice. Comprised of designers, technologists, data analysts, brand planners and business strategists, Crump’s cross-disciplinary group harnessed new technologies to create rapid prototypes for breakthrough digital products, services, and retail experiences.
Before becoming head of product and service innovation, he ran the agency’s strategy and planning group, and also served as executive creative director. During that time, the agency experienced a creative renaissance and won more top creative awards than any time in its prior history.
Making the jump from a Publicis company to a WPP agency isn’t a drastic difference for Crump; it’s more about the excitement of the new position and the Possible group of offices, which is now part of the broader Wunderman network.
“I joined Razorfish when they were a pioneer in the industry. Back then we had to explain what the internet was. We’re at a new inflection point now. Possible feels like it has the same energy and spirit Razorfish had back in the early days,” said Crump.
He added that he loves the new team he will be a part of, especially as it relates to the culture at Possible, which he said is led by the “architect of the culture”, Martha Hiefield, who has been named Americas CEO, and someone instrumental in bringing him in to the agency.
“It’s an agency that really believes in people. It puts all of its money where its mouth is from the people side. They care about culture,” he said, adding that the company is at the intersection of creative, data and insights and was built that way from scratch.
Crump says he brings a care and expertise of the craft to the business. He has worked deeply in strategy and creative, and with leading-edge technologies like AR and VR, and he cares deeply about those subjects and with doing extraordinary work for the clients.
“At the end of the day it’s about the work that you do and the clients that you have. I hope I can play a credible role.”
Crump’s new role will have him working with big brands, including the agency’s relationship with Microsoft and Amazon, but his real mandate is to grow the New York office.
“The New York office refers to itself as ‘Pony’. My mantra is, ‘watch us run’,” he said with a laugh.